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GRAND JUNCTION BIRTH COLLECTIVE
WHEN A BABY IS BORN, SO IS A MOTHER Words by Hannah Schweitzer
“When a baby is born, so is a mother, and the birth of a mother can be more intense than childbirth.” — Julia Jones
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otherhood: a journey with a clear
Traditionally, for centuries, women would
beginning, but a journey that, perhaps,
birth within their community, surrounded and
has no end. Questions evolve from, “How big is
supported by older women, sisters or aunts,
my baby at 23 weeks?” to “How to unclog a milk
and they would go on to raise their children
duct?” to “How do I put my love into words for
among those same women, learning, growing
a speech at my child’s wedding?” Ever evolving,
and supporting in a tight knit community. In our
ever changing, and yet, steady and sure —
current Western culture, we have lost a sense
motherhood is something many struggle to put
of that tight knit village, as individualism and
into words. One thing is certain though, mothers
strength are rewarded, and community is found
were never meant to do it alone.
increasingly more online than in person. When
